


Reflection

by knightkid



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Transphobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-07
Updated: 2016-01-07
Packaged: 2018-05-12 09:11:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5660830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knightkid/pseuds/knightkid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>High school AU. The generation of Angels are the most popular teens in school. Dean is one of the outcasts' and is proud of it. What happens when a demisexual Cas gets partnered with Dean, someone who hates him, for a project in art class. </p><p>OR<br/>My spin on the whole class assignment forcing you closer cliche.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reflection

**Author's Note:**

> Yes I do interchange masculine and feminine pronouns when referring to Deanna. That was on purpose!! In my mind I had her okay with both. As a genderfluid non-binary individual who identifies under the trans* umbrella, I'm ok with both masculine and feminine pronouns.  
> Also as I don't identify as demisexual I don't know if I portrayed it accurately through Cas. I don't mean to offend anyone and if you are you can brutally attack me in the comments.

"I love you," Castiel said as he started to lean closer to my face. I was trapped against the wall with his arms blocking me in. There was no escaping this.

 "I never thought of anyone, be them male or female, as anything more than just an acquaintance until you, Deanna," Castiel said. “You changed me from that cold, unfeeling, robot everyone assumed I was to someone capable of love and compassion.”

His breath was warm against my cheek, but his eyes were burning intensely.

 "I thought we would just become the best of friends, but these feelings continued to grow past that of just companionship.”  Castiel brushed away the tear I didn't know had slid down my cheek.

 "I like these new feelings, but I only want to share them with you," he said before he leaned in and kissed me tenderly, like he was afraid I would turn away from his confession. I eagerly responded by pushing our lips firmly together. We continued to kiss until our lungs demanded oxygen. 

"I love you too," I whispered before reclaiming his lips.

* * *

 

Truman High School is just like every school in the world. The cliques, the teachers, even the lunches are typical here. But the main focus of this story are two teens in particular.

Deanna Winchester, a senior, 18 years old, and is one of those teens that fades into the background. The group of teens that never do anything remarkable to be remembered past their years there. This group consists of Jo Bailey, Ash Huber, Charlie Winter, and Sam Winchester.

Now the other main character is Castiel Noble. He is a senior that hangs out with all the star athletes this town calls 'The Angel Generation'. Castiel is on the swim team, but he is also the number 1 student in the school academically.

The 'Angels' are Luke, Michael, and Gabe Nobel. Along with Ulric and Anna Henrikson. These two teens and their friends are completely different, but little do they know they will soon become the center of each other's world.

Deanna Winchester drove her '97 Impala through the school parking lot towards his regular parking spot. Her brother Sam was in the passenger seat complaining about Deanna's choice of music again.

"Deanna come on, we listen to the same tapes over and over again can we please listen to something else?”

"House rules, Sammy” Deanna said without looking at her brother. "Driver picks the music; shotgun shuts his cake hole.” Deanna turned to Sam with a smile on her face. Sam tried to resist smiling back at his sister, but it was inevitable. Deanna's smiles were contagious.

As Deanna approached her usual parking spot a light blue Nissan Qashqai cut him off and parked in his spot. Castiel, his three brothers, and Anna stepped out of the car with the latest designer clothes. Sam whistled quietly at how put together they looked, but Deanna honked and started to shout breaking the awe the surrounding kids were shrouded in.

"Hey, Feather Brains! That's my spot" he shouted out the window.

 At this moment Castiel turned to stare at Deanna. They don't understand the significance of this look, but it is the beginning of something wonderful. Gabe leans over to whisper in Castiel’s ear and fails at holding back his laughter. Castiel nods and shouts back in his normal gravelly tone

"If you had a better car then you could have this spot, but you don't, so you can't." He turns and walks away ignoring the angry shouts from Deanna and the not so quiet whispers from the students lingering around the front of the school.

* * *

 

Deanna strolled into the court yard with his lunch in hand looking for his friends. There they were on top of the grassy hill in between the Drama geeks and the Band Nerds. As Deanna got closer, she could see Jo with her head thrown back laughing at whatever Ash had said. She dramatically fell into Jo's lap as she was distracted and brought the entire group’s attention to her.

"Jo, darling, however will I gain your affections when this young handsome man has stolen your notice?”

Charlie then leaned in and grasped Jo's hands.

 "My beloved forget all these other fools and run away with me, my angel." Sam joined them with his lunch and drops to one knee.

"Joanna Eve Bailey will you marry me so we can be together forever." The whole group stared at Sam's serious face and didn't know how to react.

Sam couldn’t contain his laughter anymore and a snort escaped. They all started laughing with tears streaming down their faces; they were holding their sides and pounding the ground.

From a near bye picnic table the 'Angels' are eating their lunches trying to ignore the laughter from the group across from them.

"Some people just don't understand what it means to be quiet," Anna said snobbishly, loud enough that Deanna and her friends could hear. Castiel glanced at the group from over his shoulder and made eye contact with Deanna, who was staring at him from her position in Jo’s lap. Castiel turned back around and started to pick at his salad. Deanna mistook this as a way of saying they weren't worth the Angels’ time.

"Huff,” Deanna expelled the air from his lungs and sat up with his back facing the

Angel's table. 

"Who do they think they are? Its lunch time, who cares if were loud?" Deanna said with her arms crossed and brow furrowed. She was glaring at the innocent clouds when Charlie's fingers rubbed at her forehead.

"Don't hate on the clouds Deanna; they didn't do anything to you."

"I know," Deanna answered Ash. "I just really hate those Angels. They think they're so much better than everyone else just 'cause they're good at sports and are really smart." 

Ash started to chuckle.

"Is that sexual frustration aimed at anyone particular?" 

Before Deanna could answer Sam said, "It's all for Castiel! You should have seen her this morning!" The group started to laugh again and Deanna denied the truth of Sam's statement.

"Get over here so I can kill you Sammy" Deanna screamed as she tried to strangle her brother. The bell rang signaling the end of lunch.

* * *

 

Deanna loved art class. Not only was the teacher, Chuck, super chill, but he was an amazing artist. The only downside was that Castiel was in the class as well. 

"Hey, check it out guys. The principal wants students to get along better so were having group projects. I'll pick your partners so you get what you get and don't throw a fit," Chuck said from his school at the front of the class. "It'll be same class pairings and I'll tell you the details when you get your partner."

Deanna couldn't be more excited she loved collaboration art. The thoughts of Castiel flew right out of his head as he focused on the names being called.

"Benny is with Kevin, Jessica is with Bobby, Gordon is with Ruby, Deanna is with Castiel, Gwen with Rufus, and Lilith with Lisa." Deanna was frozen with shock; he barely heard the rest of the pairs being listed off. He was paired with Castiel Noble, the current douche bag he didn't want to deal with.

"This project will be about getting to know your partner. You'll be spending this time learning anything and everything about them and then create a physical representation of them with a quote that fits them best. You will be graded on how well you truly know your partner by the end of this month. Don't slack off or your art will show it." Chuck's final words were a clear sign to begin so Deanna got up and slowly walked to Castiel's corner of the class room. For the first few seconds they both awkwardly sat next to each other until Deanna turned to face Castiel.

"I know this is super weird 'cause we don't like each other, but I would like a good grade on this project," Deanna said.

"I agree and understand your desire for a satisfactory grade. I will brush aside my discomfort and work efficiently for the sake of our grades."

"Okay, so my name is Deanna Winchester. My family consists of my little brother, my father, my uncle Bobby and Aunt Ellen, my cousins Ash and Jo, and my neighbor Charlie." Deanna began to talk about his favorite things to do as Castiel took notes. "I don't have a job, but I… What are you writing down?" Deanna asked as he just noticed Castiel scribbling furiously on the note pad.

Castiel then looked up and said, "It is just my interpretations and basic sketches."

 Deanna was nervous and sort of excited to see what Castiel had put so he demanded that Castiel hand over the notebook. 

"I do not see why I should, they are my reflections and it is not necessary for you to view them."

"Fine, I'll wait, why you don't talk about yourself then." Castiel nodded and gave his full attention to Deanna.

"My name is Castiel Noble; I have 3 brothers, Luke, Gabe, and Michael. My grade point average is a 4.27, and I currently hold three school records for swimming" Castiel continued to spill about his life and Deanna's eyebrows rose with each word.

"Wow, you have a lot on your plate. How do you handle all that stress?"

"Drawing" was Castiel's simple reply. It had shocked Deanna that Castiel had his own troubles to deal with too. The bell rang knocking Deanna back to reality.

"We should meet up some time so we can get this project done. Here's my number call anytime," Deanna said as he wrote his number on Castiel's hand in blue sharpie. Sam was standing at the door waiting for his so they could go to the last class of the day.

"What was that about? Why were you giving him your number? I thought you hated him." Sam fired off his endless questions at a rapid pace.

"We’re working on a project together. That's all, so just drop it," Deanna said.

* * *

 

Deanna was washing the dishes when her cellphone goes off. It's Castiel. Deanna dries her hands and runs up to her room barely contain her smile.

"Hello this is Tony's Pizza Palace, how may I help you," Deanna said with an Italian accent.

"I apologize I must have dialed the wrong number, excuse me I'll hang up now," Castiel said.

"Hold on Cas it was a joke. It's me Deanna," she said quickly, before Castiel could hang up.

"I understand, but my name is Castiel, Deanna," Castiel told Deanna. She could imagine him squinting and tilting his head to the side like a cute puppy.

"Yeah it's a nickname. Don't you like it?" Deanna asked.

"Thank you. I now understand. I have never been given a shorter variation of my name before. I called to tell you my schedule is free this Saturday and was able to meet you and work on the project," Castiel said.

"Yeah, I’m free that day. I can meet you at the Memorial Park as long as it's cool my friends are there too. I mean, we are supposed to get to know each other. What's a better way than spending time with me and my friends?"

While Deanna had his conversation in his room, John and Sam were in the living room watching T.V.

"Who's that calling Deanna?" John asked Sam.

"Probably her partner" Sam said, to involved in the show to notice John's widening eyes.

"Partner?" John asked.

"Yeah, his name is Castiel Noble, one of the Angels" Sam answered.

John nodded and headed upstairs to have a conversation with his son. He knocked on Deanna's door and opened it to find Deanna hugging a pillow to her chest. Her phone to her ear, and a smile on her face.

"See you Saturday" Deanna said before shutting her phone and acknowledging his father.

"Yeah Dad, what did you need?"

"It has come to my attention that you have a partner and would like to have a word with you," John said with a serious tone.

"Yeah, what about Castiel?" Deanna asked.

"I would like you to know that I'm okay with your newfound relationship and want to make sure that when you go ahead and do ‘it’ that you use protection and that you're really sure about it before you just go and do "it". We all know you’re pretty overbearing so he must really be a saint to put up with you."

Before John could carry on a flustered Deanna interrupts him.

"Whoa, hold on Castiel is my Project Partner, not my boyfriend. Wait, how did you even know that?" Deanna demanded. Her face was hot and flustered

"Sam told me you got a partner" Dad asked clearly relieved he didn't have to continue the conversation.

"I'm going to kill you Sammy," Deanna shouts and runs down the stairs to throttle her little brother for causing this misunderstanding.

* * *

 

 Deanna and Castiel got closer and closer over the two weeks they spent together working on the project. Castiel became an unusual, but welcome presence in Deanna's group of friends. Castiel helped Deanna and her friends with their homework and they in return helped Cas speak more like a teen.

"Hey, I have a swim meet after school today so we can meet up after or you could stay and watch me."

Castiel said to Deanna not aware of how it might have sounded. Deanna's heart began to beat faster and a blush rose to his cheeks. 

"Sure," he squeaked out. "I'll stay and watch."

Deanna didn't know what to expect at a swim meet, so she sat in the far bleachers working on the homework she got that day. She would occasionally watch Castiel as he got ready for his races. Okay, so he mainly watched Castiel stretch.

"200 meter freestyle," the announcer said on the loud speaker. 

Castiel approached his lane. The race started and Castiel was already in the lead. His smooth strokes looked so much more professional than the other kids. He was beautiful. And then the race was over. Castiel won first place and broke his past records.

The meet finished and Castiel was searching for Deanna in the moving crowd. When he spotted her he started a slow jog with a smile on his face. The kids made a wide path for him as the muttered quick congratulations.

The 'Angels' believed Castiel to be running towards them so they stood as Castiel got closer, but he ran right past them to Deanna. "What is happening here?" Gabe asked as he watched Castiel and Deanna smile and walk to the locker rooms.

Deanna stood outside the boy’s locker room nervously waiting for Castiel to be finished changing.

Castiel walked out with sweat pants and a t-shirt stuck to his chest from the water that was still clinging to him. "You were great in your race Castiel," Deanna said while trying not to stare at the water running down Castiel’s neck.

"Thank you Deanna although you know nothing about swimming I appreciate your attempt at congratulating me," Castiel answered in his usual straight forward kind of way.

"Wait here for a moment I must go receive my award from the coach" Castiel said and walked off leaving Deanna once again in the hallway outside the locker rooms. Deanna leaned against the lockers whistling Carry on My Wayward Son when she heard a door slam.

"Castiel that was quick, are you ready to go now?" Deanna asked.

A nasally voice came from a tall student with pale blue, almost white eyes, "I'm ready when you are, but I prefer to be called Alistair." 

"Excuse me, I thought you were someone else," Deanna said.

"Oh I know you were waiting for Castiel, the most respected of the Angels" Alistair said while slowly creeping closer to Deanna. "What I want to know is how you got to be such close friends with him," Alistair leaned in close as if expecting the answer to be written somewhere on Deanna's face. “How does a thing like you gain the favor of one of the most popular athletes in school?”

"We're just getting to know each other for a project. There's nothing wrong with us being friends." Deanna said feeling a bit self-conscious about Alistair's question.

"Oh no, I've seen the way you look at Castiel, and it's not a look for friends." Alistair ran his finger down the side of Deanna's face as he talked into Deanna's ear. Deanna was too frightened to deny it. She was too scared to do much of anything. She didn't like being this helpless, but there was something about Alistair that made her knees lock.

"Oh do tell, what kind of looks he has been sending our dear Castiel?" Anna asked from behind Alistair.

Deanna thought she was going to die from the suffocating tension between Alistair and the other members of the 'Generation of Angels'.

Deanna's saving grace came in the form of a gorgeous boy with a swimmer’s body named Castiel. He entered the locker room hallway and glared at the scene he saw.

* * *

 

I saw Deanna pressed against the wall, Alistair touching her and my "friends" glaring at them both. I calmly walked to Deanna's side and wrapped my arm around her shoulders.

"Leave her alone," I growled out in a rough voice. I don't understand this feeling. This urge to protect Deanna from everyone in this room.

"Castiel, explain to us why you are wasting your time with this individual" Michael looked at Deanna as if she wasn't worth the air he was breathing. I don't understand why I wanted to beat that look off his face.

"Deanna is my friend," I said. None of them deserved to know the full story of their new friendship anyway.

"He's the scum of the school!" Ulric shouted. "You know the people he hangs out with are even worse than her."

Another surge of emotion washed over me as I heard Ulric call my friends scum. "Those people are also my friends, so I would appreciate it if you wouldn't speak of them that way." I grabbed my bag and Deanna's hand and walked to the doors.

Luke stepped in my path and looked me in the eyes as he told me something that shocked me to my core. "If you walk out that door, don't ever think you can come back to us."

The people I thought of as friends, as family, were so shallow they would rather abandon me than except my new friends. I walked out the door without looking back.

* * *

 

I was shocked that Castiel had come to rescue me. Not that I needed rescuing in the first place, but not only did he give up his status as an Angel, but he gave up his only friends.

"Whoa Castiel, you can't do this,” I said dragging my feet through the gravel in the parking lot hoping to stop Castiel.

Castiel turned to look at me and the fury on his face was something I had never witnessed. "They had no right to talk about you or your friends like that."

"It's okay I'm glad you stood up for my friends," I said, and it was true. They could say anything they wanted about me, but no one gets away with talking bad about my family. I was used to it. Most people didn’t understand that even though I was born in a boy's body, I was a girl inside. My mom explained to me when I was younger that they only make fun of me because they didn’t want to understand and it made them uncomfortable. They didn't understand that even though I used both pronouns I was still a girl. That using masculine pronouns wasn't an insult.

"Let's just get out of here and work on our project" I spoke gently to Castiel trying to keep him calm.

* * *

 

Deanna was relaxing on his stomach in the living room drawing a rough sketch of Castiel's profile. Castiel was sitting on the couch trying to remain calm, but he was still tense.

"Hey, want to listen to some music," Deanna asked as he jumped to his feet.

"Sure. I do not listen to music often, so I will leave the selections to you." Deanna nodded and plugged her IPod into the dock on the T.V. stereo. “Eye of the Tiger” blasted through the speakers. Deanna nodded her head to the beat and strummed his imaginary air guitar. Castiel sat on the couch watching Deanna rock out to the song not sure what to do.

Deanna grabbed the remote control and used it as a microphone as she sang the lyrics perfectly in sync with the music. Castiel stood up and tried to sway his body to the same rhythm of Deanna's.

Laughter flowed out of Deanna's mouth as she took Castiel's forearms and guided his body to sway close with hers. Castiel leaned in closer to the "microphone" and sang the next line of lyrics perfectly while staring Deanna straight in the eyes.

Deanna nervously distanced herself, but stayed close enough to flash Castiel a smile and shout, "Go Castiel!"

He began to loosen up and have so much fun they didn't notice their friends walk through the door.

"You started the party without us?" Ash said as he bounced towards the still swaying Castiel. They all danced and sang along to Deanna's playlist like they were putting on a bad concert. The party continued far into the night so they all decided to sleep over.

"I will be spending the night at Deanna's house so do not expect me home," Castiel said on his cellphone. "I will walk home so you don't need to concern yourself." Castiel ended the call and looked over to his sleeping friends with a smile on his face.

* * *

 

Deanna, Castiel, and his friends were walking together before they split up to head to their next classes when the Angels stepped in front of them.

"Castiel, we demand that you get over this phase and come back to your family," Michael commanded.

"No! These guys are my friends now and if you can't accept them then it’s not my problem" Castiel said looking over at Deanna to see if he had said it normally. Deanna's lessons on talking differently had prepared him for this moment Less formal and more like a teenager. Deanna nodded at him with a smile on her face.

"Why are you wasting your time on these idiots" Anna screamed. She was beyond frustrated with Castiel's stubbornness.

"Listen little Miss A, just 'cause Castiel hangs with us now doesn't mean you can insult me and my friends," Deanna said as she stepped forward as if protecting her friends from physical attacks. "Shut up loser. The only friends you have are your relatives and a girl that can't avoid you because she's your neighbor. Why don’t you cut your hair, lose the girl clothes, and act like the guy you were born as, you tranny.” 

The kids that had stopped to listen to their argument burst out laughing. Deanna turned red from the strain of keeping her temper and tears in check.

"At least I don't abandon my family" Deanna nearly shouted before running away from the crowd. Castiel glared at his family and the kids in the crowd with disappointment. "If this is your way of convincing me you’re better company than these people, you're doing a poor job of it." Castiel then ran off after Deanna.

The large crowd was left to wallow in the shame Castiel made them feel. They all dispersed some in groups and others shuffling to class by themselves.

* * *

 

Castiel found Deanna on the floor with her face buried in her knees. Castiel fell to the floor in front of Deanna and gently coaxed Deanna's face into his hands.

"Come on Deanna you know what they say doesn't really matter." Castiel pulled Deanna into a standing position.

"No, she was right. I have no real friends. No one wants to be with the town's only girlyboy. How am I even gonna find a date to prom? Oh my god, I totally forgot about Prom. I can't take Ash or Sammy that would be so weird. What am I going to do?" Deanna was working himself into frenzy.

Castiel started to laugh at him.

"What is so funny about this Castiel?" Deanna asked when she stopped ranting about hillbillies marrying their cousins.

“I just realized," Castiel said with a small smile on his face "I love you" and he tilted his head to the side as he stared at Deanna with eyes shining with affection.

* * *

 

Deanna and Castiel opened the door to the art room and attempted to sneak to their seats without being noticed by Chuck.

"Deanna, Castiel so glad you could join us," Chuck said without turning his head. "It just so happens to be your turn to present your projects. What a coincidence."

Deanna and Castiel brought out their projects and shuffled to the front of the class.

"Castiel you can go first," Deanna said as she gave Castiel a nervous smile and blush.

Castiel nodded and stepped forward.

“Over the month I spent getting to know Deanna I can proudly say that she is an honorable, loyal woman that protects anyone and everyone she views as her family. Yes, she is transgender, but that doesn’t change a thing about how much she cares about the people she loves or how we feel about her." Castiel then turned his drawing to the class.

It was a picture of Deanna's family and friends sleeping in the living room of Deanna's house after their impromptu concert. Everyone in the drawing was curled up together with smiles on their faces.

But what everyone was staring at was the image of Deanna standing in the background.

Her face held a gentle smile and the walls behind him showed the shadow of angel wings. The quote, "My family is my strength and my weakness"- Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, was written in an elegant font along the bottom.

Deanna stepped forward and hugged Castiel after she saw his drawing. "Thank you" she whispered. No one had understood how much his family meant to him before Castiel came along. Or how much it hurt to see others reject them when they realized she was transgender. She took a deep breath and started her presentation.

"At first I thought Castiel was just a stuck up Angel, and I hated him for it. This project showed me the true form of Castiel. The one I've come to love."

Chuck's eyebrows rose in shock while the rest of the class gasped and glanced at each other.

"Castiel doesn't care about being a member of the Angels. All he wants is to be free." Deanna then turned his drawing to the class. It was of the first time Castiel had met his friends in the park. Sam, Deanna, and Charlie were sprawled out on the grass in various positions laughing at Jo and Ash. Jo was sitting on Ash's shoulders and making a funny face at the others.

But Castiel was sitting on the lowest tree branch watching them all with a peaceful look on his face. The branches around him formed the shape of wicked wings. As if Castiel was a fallen angel meant to protect them. The quote, “Free yourself from the prison of your past”- Anonymous, was written in a similar branched font that looked like the branches of the tree he was sitting in.

The class was silent as Deanna and Castiel walked back to their back corner. Chuck stood up and started clapping.

"Now that is how this project was supposed to be. Very well done guys" Chuck said before the bell rang.

Castiel and Deanna stood up and walked towards their friends while holding hands. They both know the obstacles' they were going to face would be difficult, but they would face them together. With their family supporting them the whole way.


End file.
